Falcons to Play at Kent State in the First Round of the MAC Tournament on Monday Night

Monday, March 7

Kent, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Kent State (First Round)

Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

Falcons to Play at Kent State in the First Round of the MAC Tournament on Monday Night

March 06, 2016 | Men's Basketball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

No. 12 Bowling Green (14-17, 5-13 MAC)
vs.
No. 5 Kent State (19-12, 10-8 MAC)

Monday, Mar. 7, 2016 * 7:00 p.m.
Kent, Ohio * M.A.C. Center

First Round

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STARTING FIVE
(1) NEW SEASON: The 2016 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com is the start of a new season for all the MAC teams. BGSU finished the regular season at 14-17 overall and 5-13 in MAC play, but will look to put it all behind them for postseason play beginning on Monday night, Mar. 7, at Kent State.

(2) ONE-GAME SEASON: With the 2016 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament a single elimination postseason event, the Falcons' season will come down to one game. To keep their season alive, the Falcons need a win over #5 Kent State on Monday night in the first round of the postseason conference tournament. A loss would end the Falcons' season at 14-18 overall.

(3) RETURN TO THE M.A.C.: The Falcons will return to the M.A.C. Center for the second time in a week on Monday night, Mar. 7. BGSU fell to the Golden Flashes 70-54 at the M.A.C. Center just seven days ago on Mar. 1.

(4) THREE: Three, as in two three-game losing streaks, is what the Falcons will attempt to end on Monday night versus Kent State in the first round of the 2016 MAC Championship Tournament. Kent State has won each of the last three meetings between the two teams on the hardwood. KSU has also won each of the last three MAC Tournament games over the Falcons.

(5) LIMPING INTO TOURNAMENT PLAY: Both BGSU and Kent State are limping into the MAC Championship Tournament this week. The Falcons dropped each of their last three games to end the regular season, while the Golden Flashes have lost three of their last four games heading into tournament play this week.

(6th man) CENTENNIAL SEASON: The 2015-16 is the Centennial Season for the BGSU men's basketball program, which began playing basketball in 1915-16.

SCOUTING THE KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES
With their loss to Akron in the regular season finale on Friday night, Mar. 4, the Golden Flashes finished the MAC slate at 10-8 overall and in a third-place tie with Buffalo in the MAC East Division. Kent State, who is one win away from win number 20 on the season at 19-12 overall, are 13-2 at home in the M.A.C. Center this year with its last home loss coming to Toledo back on Feb. 6. Forward Jimmy Hall leads the Golden Flashes with 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on the season, and has been a Falcon killer this season with 26 points and 16 rebounds in the game at BG on Jan. 23 and 22 points and nine boards in the home win over the Orange and Brown just one week ago on Mar. 1. Guard Kellon Thomas is averaging 12.2 points and 2.5 assists per contest for the Golden Flashes, while the big men duo of Chris Ortiz and Khaliq Spicer are combining to averaged 15.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game on the year.

ALL-TIME SERIES BETWEEN BGSU AND KENT STATE
BGSU leads the overall series over Kent State 84-72, but has dropped each of the last three meetings. The Falcons have won two out of the last five meetings between the two MAC East Division foes, however, Kent State has won each of the last three contests between the Falcons and the Golden Flashes. BGSU, who defeated KSU 66-64 at the M.A.C. Center last season, is 32-43 all-time on the road in Kent, Ohio. Kent State defeated BGSU 70-54 at the M.A.C. Center just one week ago on Mar. 1.

IN 2015-16
This season, Kent State swept the regular season series over the Falcons. The Golden Flashes upended BGSU 62-59 at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio on Jan. 23. In the rematch at Kent, the Golden Flashes pulled away late to defeat the Falcons 70-54 at the M.A.C. Center on Mar. 1.

COACH'S CORNER
"The regular season is now over, and everyone's record is wiped clean. Tournament time is fun because a team can get hot and make a run towards a conference championship. We want that team to be us. We will take on Kent State in the first round of the MAC Tournament and look to pull out a victory and advance to Cleveland. Having just played them last week, we should be familiar with their players and have the ability to make adjustments to our game plan. Jimmy Hall is an All-League player and will be a great test for our young front court. I told our guys it is difficult to beat the same team three times in one season. Kent State had our number in the first two games, now it is our turn to flip the script."

ON THE ROAD TO BEGIN THE MAC TOURNEY
BGSU will be on the road for the first round of the 2016 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament for just the second time in the last six years. The Falcons last played on the road for the first round of the conference tournament in 2014 when BGSU fell a Northern Illinois 54-51 in overtime. Prior to that, BGSU last played on the road in the first round in 2010 at Western Michigan.

ROUGH ROAD
The Falcons are just 1-5 all-time in MAC Championship Tournament games in true road contests. In fact, BGSU has dropped each of its last three first round road contests - at Northern Illinois (2014), at Western Michigan (2010) and at Toledo (2006). The Falcons last won on the road in the first round of the conference tournament event at Ball State, 90-81, in 2003.

END TO THE MAC WEST RUN
Since playing two MAC East Division teams in the 2009 MAC Championship Tournament - versus Ohio in the quarterfinals and versus Akron in the semifinals - BGSU has played a divisional opponent just once in the conference championship tournament with a first round contest versus Miami in 2013. Eight of their last nine MAC Championship Tournament games have come against teams from the MAC West Division.

FALCONS AS THE NO. 12 SEED
Since the 1999 MAC Tournament, when every team made the postseason conference championship tournament, the Falcons have been the No. 12 seed just once prior to this year back in 2007. As the No. 12 seed in 2007, the Falcons fell to the No. 5 Ohio Bobcats 69-59 in the first round held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

VERSUS KENT IN TOURNEY PLAY
Bowling Green is only 1-5 all-time versus the Kent State Golden Flashes in the two teams' MAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament history. The two teams last met in the postseason event back in 2004, a quarterfinals 79-66 win for the Golden Flashes. BGSU played Kent State in the MAC Championship game in 2002, a 70-59 win for the Golden Flashes. KSU has won each of the last three meetings between the two teams in the conference event. BGSU's lone win over the Golden Flashes in MAC Tournament play came in 1994, a 68-58 quarterfinals win at home.

A FALCON WIN WOULD ...
* Keep the Falcons' season alive and send BGSU to Cleveland and the quarterfinals of the MAC Championship Tournament for the second straight season.
* Put the Falcons at 15-17 overall on the year.
* Snap a three-game losing streak.
* End a three-game losing streak to the Kent State Golden Flashes.
* Hand the Falcons their first win for the month of March.
* Break a three-game losing streak to the Golden Flashes in MAC Tournament play.
* Give the Falcons a 2-5 record all-time versus Kent State in MAC Tournament play.

LAST TIME OUT - BUFFALO 87, BGSU 83 (MAR. 4)
In their final game of the 2015-16 regular season, the Bowling Green State University men's basketball team had four players score in double figures and erased a 10-point Buffalo lead only to let the game slip away late in allow the Bulls to escape the Stroh Center with an 87-83 Mid-American Conference win on Senior Night. Prior to the opening tip, the BGSU men's basketball program recognized seniors Brandon Busuttil, David Joseph and Spencer Parker. For the third time in the last five games, the Falcons as a team shot over 50 percent, as BGSU was 32-of-60 (53.3 percent) from the field overall on Friday night. However, the Orange and Brown were just 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from behind the three-point line and only 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from the charity stripe for the 40 minute contest. Buffalo also shot 50 percent, as the Bulls were 33-of-66 from the field overall, but were better from the three-point line going 10-of-25 (40 percent). The visitors in black also struggled at the free throw line where they were just 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) for the game. BGSU outscored the Bulls 48-36 in points in the paint and 33-29 in bench points, however, Buffalo held 15-13 advantage in points off turnovers and a 14-10 edge in fast break points over the Falcons on the night.

FALCONS' ON MONDAY
BGSU is a perfect 1-0 on Monday's this season. The Falcons beat Florida Gulf Coast 82-77 on Monday, Nov. 23, in the final game of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic in Florida.

SHARING THE ROCK
The Falcons have done a good job in sharing the ball over the last eight games, as BGSU has recorded a total of 103 assists over that span, an average of 12.9 per game. BGSU had 17 assists versus Akron (Feb. 9), posted back-to-back games with 14 assists versus Western Michigan (Feb. 13) and at Northern Illinois (Feb. 16) and dished out 12 assists at Buffalo (Feb. 20). Last week, BGSU tallied 15 assists in the home win over Ohio (Feb. 23) and passed out 10 assists at Akron (Feb. 26.). BGSU totaled 10 more assists at Kent State (Mar. 1) and recorded 11 assists at home versus Buffalo (Mar. 4) last time out.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
BGSU has shown that it can shoot the ball efficiently over the last three weeks, as the Falcons as a team have shot over 50 percent from the field overall in three of their last five games. BGSU shot 54.4 percent overall at Buffalo on Feb. 20 and then followed that up by shooting 52.5 percent in a home win over Ohio on Feb. 23. Just last time out, the Falcons shot 53.3 percent in the loss at home to Buffalo on Mar. 4.

1000 AND COUNTING FOR PARKER
In the Falcons contest on Feb. 9 versus Akron, senior forward Spencer Parker recorded his 1,000th career point on a three-pointer at the 15:56 mark of the first half. He became the 43rd player in BGSU men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career points mark. Parker finished the game with 23 points and enters Monday night's game with 1,127 career points, which ranks 34th overall.

HITTING 100 FROM LONG RANGE
Junior shooting guard Zack Denny eclipsed the century mark in three-point field goals made for his career with his first trey at NIU on Feb. 16, as he has now drained a total of 104 career treys over his three years at BGSU. After making just three three-pointers in just three games due to injury as a freshman in 2013-14, Denny knocked down a team-high 50 three-balls last season. He has topped that mark this season already with 51 made treys for the Falcons.

DISH FROM ISH
Junior point guard Ismail Ali leads the team with a total of 121 assists on the season. The first-year Falcon has made it eight straight seasons that at least one player has recorded 100 assists or more for BGSU, a streak that dates back to the 2008-09 campaign.

GOTTA GET TO 70
The Falcons have got to find a way to get to the magic number of 70 on the scoreboard, as BGSU is 13-4 overall on the season when scoring 70 points or more. The Falcons are just 1-13 on the year when scoring less than 70 points for the contest.

LINE OF DEFENSE = UTMOST IMPORTANCE
The defense has been vital to the Falcons success this season, as BGSU is just 2-14 on the season when its opponent records a higher field goal percentage than the Falcons for the game. While on the flip side, BGSU is 12-3 when shooting better from the floor than its foe and is a solid 8-2 overall when holding its opponent to less than 40 percent shooting for the game. The Falcons are 8-2 when limiting their opponents to 69 points or less for the contest, but are 1-8 when allowing their opponents to score 80 points or more for the game.

SHARP SHOOTING FALCONS
The Falcons have shot over 44 percent from the floor as a team in each of their 14 wins this season, including shooting a season-high 55.7 percent overall from the field in the blowout win over Urbana on Nov. 29. The Falcons are 12-3 on the season when shooting better than their opponents from the field as a team overall with losses coming at Miami (Ohio) on Feb. 6, at Buffalo on Feb. 20 and versus the UB Bulls again at home on Mar. 4.

KEY IS CLEANING THE GLASS
BGSU has done well this season when out-rebounding its opponents for the game. In fact, the Falcons are a stellar 13-3 when grabbing the same number or more rebounds than their foes in a game this season. The Falcons are 1-14 on the year when losing the battle of the boards with the lone win coming versus Miami (Ohio) at home on Jan. 6, 2016.

GETTING TO THE CHARITY STRIPE
Bowling Green has made it a habit to get to the free throw line this year, as the Falcons have shot more foul shots than their opponents in 21 of their 31 games this season. BGSU has attempted 20 or more free throws in 22 games on the year, including a season-high 35 attempts at Detroit on Dec. 12. The Falcons have made more free throws than their opponents have even attempted in NINE different contests this season.

MINUTES, MINUTES, EVERYONE GETS MINUTES!
A total of nine players are averaging double digit minutes of playing time on the court thus far this season for the Falcons. In fact, at least nine different players have notched 10 minutes or more of playing time in 14 different games for the Falcons this season. Seven different Falcons are averaging 20 minutes or more of playing time on the year.

SPENCE LEADING BY EXAMPLE
As the most experienced player on the Falcons' roster, senior forward Spencer Parker has been leading by example with career numbers this season. Parker leads the team in scoring with an average of 14.3 points per game and is second in rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per game, both of which are career highs. He has scored in double figures in 24 games and has already posted nine 20-plus point games with 22 points at FGCU, 20 points versus UMBC, a career-high 33 points at Detroit, 22 points at Ohio, 21 points on the road at EMU, 23 points at home against Akron, 21 points on the road at Buffalo, 20 points at home versus Ohio and then 20 points in the regular season finale at home against Buffalo.

TWO GOING FOR 20-PLUS
With Spencer Parker's 21 points and Zack Denny's 20 points in the road win at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 16, the duo became the first pair of Falcons to score 20 points or more in the same game since BGSU's Anthony Henderson and Jehvon Clarke each poured in 23 points at Toledo on Feb. 5, 2014. The Falcons did it again on Feb. 23, as Parker and Wes Alcegaire each poured in 20 points in the 87-82 home win over Ohio.

BENCH HELP
The BGSU bench was big for the Falcons in MAC play, as Coach Huger's subs outscored their opponent's bench in 11 of the 18 conference contests with the Falcons matching Eastern Michigan in one of those other seven games. In MAC play, BGSU totaled 458 bench points, an average of 25.4 points per game. Their opponents have combined to score at total of 322 bench points, an average of 17.9 per MAC contest.

MAKE IT 10 YEARS IN A ROW
With the Falcons' 87-82 win over Ohio on Feb. 23, BGSU recorded its seventh home win of the season. BGSU has registered at least seven home wins over each of the last 10 seasons dating back to the 2006-07 season.

HUGER FIRSTS ON THE SIDELINE
BGSU first-year head coach Michael Huger picked up his first career win as a head coach in the 79-61 win over New Orleans in the season opener. His first MAC win as a coach with the Falcons' 73-62 home win over Miami (Ohio) in the two teams' conference opener on Jan. 6, at the Stroh Center. He recorded his first MAC road win at Ohio, 91-75, on Jan. 12.

10 POINT POSSESSION
BGSU recorded a 10-point possession in only 37 seconds late in the second half in the win over Ohio on Jan. 12. The Falcons got a three-pointer from Ismail Ali (3), who was also fouled on the play. After the foul, a scuffle ensued with both teams which drew four technical fouls, three to Ohio and one to BGSU. With the technical fouls, BGSU got four free throws on top of Ali's foul shot from being fouled on the play. Ali hit his free throw from the foul (4) and then calmly knocked down 3-of-4 attempts from the Ohio technical fouls (7). BGSU then got the ball out of bounds, where Zack Denny abruptly drove down the lane, hit the layup (9) and was fouled on the play. He then drained the free throw (10) to cap of the possession. BGSU is 9-2 on the season when making more free throws than its opponent compared to just 3-4 overall when its foe makes more free throws than them for the game.

NON-CONFERENCE WINS
The Falcons finished their non-conference regular season slate with a 9-4 record this season. The nine non-conference wins, not including postseason play, are the most by a Falcons' team in a single season since posting 10 non-conference wins in 2006-07.

A FALCON NOW LEADING THE FALCONS
It seems fitting that a former Falcon would lead the program during its Centennial Season, as former BGSU standout and 1994 graduate Michael Huger returns to his alma-mater as the head coach in 2015-16. Huger, who returns to where he was a standout player for the Falcons from 1989-93. While a player at BGSU, Huger helped the Falcons to a pair of NIT appearances. Tabbed the BGSU Team MVP in 1992-93, he earned all-conference honors in his final two seasons, and was a Naismith Award nominee and the runner-up for MAC Player of the Year his senior year.

PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH IN THE MAC EAST IN PRESEASON POLL
With the loss of its top three scorers from last season in Richaun Holmes to the NBA, and both Jehvon Clarke and Anthony Henderson due to graduation, the Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the MAC East Division in the 2015-16 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, which was determined by a 23-member MAC News Media Panel. The Falcons garnered 42 points overall.